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Feeling like a little ball of energy lately. Building on some radio ideas and I think I’ve hit on a podcast idea.

I’ve been struggling with my Numark NS7ii DJ controller. I was about ready to light i ton fire this past weekend. The machine has never really worked as advertised. On my old Intel 2 Duel Core Macbook Pro…it glitches, or locked up. The Serato and Numark people were both like, “it’s your computer.”

I bought a new Macbook three weeks ago and the second time I use it, glitches hard. Sunday night, it wouldn’t even play a single song. I plug in my old Macbook, works the best it has ever worked. I don’t know. It is frustrating especially now as I am thinking of trying to DJ a lounge night somewhere in Vancouver. I’ll need it to work. I’ve been on with the tech support people at Serato, and yapping with my friend Tyson (who programs hardware for a different music company) and we (they) think we have it figured out. I hope. PRAY. Tyson thinks it’s a software conflict too.

“The best controller ever built. period.” Jeeeeezus. To be fair…when it works…it works so gloriously that if I get this thing sorted out, I am sure I’ll change my tune and be singing its praises.

Which brings me to today’s song. Four Tet. I’ve been thinking of my lounge set lately. And all the great chill wave and downtempo artists I used to play at the Veneto Lounge like Four Tet. In Victoria on the weekend I stumbled into Ditch Recorts (to buy Kurt Vile…well actually I wanted Titus Andronicus‘ new album but it was $40!) and I found a 2015 record from Four Tet. Four Tet’s new album is called Morning/Evening. Keiran Hebden inherited some Indian music from his grandfather and pulled some samples out of a 1983 song called “Main Teri Chhoti Behana Hoon” by Lata Mangeshkar.

Toro y Moi happens to have some new sounds too…and I always enjoyed his stuff.

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I was putting my kids to bed tonight when it dawned on me that one day I won’t. Sometimes it’s a chore. Sometimes I don’t want to do it. But then when I don’t have to, I’ll miss it so much.

I was talking to my Dad the other day about how funny and great little baby babble is. I kinda wish I could record it all the time and save it for when I’m an old man. My Dad said I really should make a pint of recording. The thing is, as soon as I pull out my phone (so far at least) Jack stops babbling. Like he knows…or he gets distracted by the phone. I strapped him in to the car seat today on a quest to buy more coffee beans and I got 15 seconds out of him before he saw my phone and was more interested in swiping at it.

Go with yourself.

AIC

Alternative Nation has this story of an early Alice in Chains show in Pullman, Washington at WSU.

 As the legend has it…some AiC fans drove up to Spokane to see the emerging Seattle grunge group who had recently been signed to CBS Records. They asked the band to come down to Pullman for a show. $2,000 guarantee was enough to the band to perform in front of 450 people at Washington State University on December 1st, 1989…months before their debut record Facelift.

Here is the set…love the cover of “Suffragette City” near the end.

1. Killing Yourself
2. Man In A Box
3. Love, Hate, Love
4. We Die Young
5. Sunshine
6. Queen Of The Rodeo
7. Social Parasite
8. Put You Down
9. Real Thing
10. I Can’t Remember
11. Sea Of Sorrow
12. Suffragette City
13. Taxi Driver

arkells

Max Kerman from the Arkells talks about his role in a viral wedding proposal video.

Chris Murray from Ottawa wanted to surprise his Arkells loving girlfriend with a memorable wedding proposal and asked Max to help out. He said yes and then she said yes. Neat.

Go with yourself.

metric and jeremy

Fun times! Emily Haines and Jimmy Shaw from Metric stopped by CFOX today to perform a couple songs and have an interview. Metric are currently on tour with Imagine Dragons. We had a grand time and now Meredith, me, Emily and Jimmy are all best friends.

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Coral and I are home from the show (thanks Uncle Matt for watching Jack!).

The show was solid. I enjoyed “Help, I’m Alive,” “Synthetica,” and “Gold, Guns, Girls.” All ripped live.

Imagine Dragons also sounded pretty good. Coral and I didn’t get to stay for the whole thing but they played “It’s Time” and that’s the song by them I love. The arena was full…and the crowd was excited for Imagine Dragons, so they’re doing something right. I thought they lacked some punch. Couldn’t keep the energy up and stopped down every song to drag it out. But they did sound good. Their audience loved them and they worked the stage and the light show.

Their first song of the night was this one.

Coral said, “if you want to download the whole new album for me and put it on my phone, you could.” There you go IG, you sold one new 30-something on your tunes.

Go with yourself.

As If Ideas 10
My wife Coral is a fan of !!! so when I woke up this morning to an email saying new !!!, well I had to open and read that one.

New record is called As If. It’s out October 16. Dig it. Fun times…money on the cover? C’mon!

Coral and I are off to Metric and Imagine Dragons tonight. I have never seen Imagine Dragons in all my years of mainstream rock DJ-ery./…weird. Coral is amped on the new Metric song “The Shade.”

Metric is stopping by the radio show today. I hope to have a couple songs recorded here to share? We’ll see how that plays out.

Metric in DIY
Metric in Rolling Stone

And can we just tlak about this for one second… Jimmy Shaw’s current fave is MY current fave!

Go with yourself.

firedup

I’ve been listening to the new Titus Andronicus record The Most Lamentable Tragedy, the past couple days. I have the single “Fired Up” on my skytrain into work playlist.

Titus Andronicus are a punk band from Brooklyn. Their 4th album is getting some positive reviews. Lots going on with this punk rock opera…best hit to play on “Fired Up.”

If you’re new to the band, read this profile from Consequence of Sound. You get an idea of who is is behind the music and lead singer guy Patrick Stickles struggles (and triumphs) being manic depressive.  What that means to him and how it translate into his art.

Go with yourself.

most-non-heinous-the-good-the-bad-the-ugly-single

Toronto band Most Non Heinous have a new movie themed song in “The Good The Bad, and The Ugly.”

More of the aggressive, industrial rock that fans of the band will be familiar with.

“No one wins in a Mexican standoff.”

New record will be called The Fifth Element and comes out in August. Another song off the disc is called “The Lost Boys.”

And let’s go back in time and hear their most excellent cover of Tool’s “Stinkfist.” Threads a little female vocal into the mix. Nice touch.

Go with yourself.

fasttimesatridgemonthigh
I was talking about the classic teen comedy Fast Times at Ridgemont High the other day on my radio show. I was surprised t learn the movie is based on a book that Cameron Crowe wrote. He went undercover at a highschool for a year to write it!

Going undercover for a year at a high school sounds like on of those hijinks that you could only do in the 80s….or a Drew Barrymore film.

From the soundtrack to the movie, check out The Ravyns‘ song “Raised on the Radio.”

Go with yourself.

unnamed (2)

Aussie/Brooklyn hybrid Chet Faker re-released his song “1998” and re-cut it with vocals from Banks.

A couple shows near us.

08/15 –  Seattle, WA – 1077 The End Summer Camp 2015
08/16 –  Portland, OR – KNRK 94.7 Birthday Concert

Go with yourself.

magic potion
“Slacker pop”might be my new favourite genre. Which is funny because I love to work. Maybe it’s aspirational for me?

Magic Potion are from Sweden. This song is a beauty.

Light, breezy. Hazy, fuzzy. Out of focus. All good things. I love the hook, “but the truth is that I’m, bored. But the truth is that I’m bored.” That just nails so much about what is going on.

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This cut came on next…probably fits the mood well.

UK group called Ultimate Painting.

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This is weird.

Go with yourself.